Choosing a good domain name is easier said than done. If you’ve spent any time finding a good name you probably have discover that it is either being used or someone is sitting on that domain (domain parking). To put it simple, domain name purchasing isn’t easy. Here are a few things to help you choose and optimize your domain name for your business and search engines results.
1) Branded names and keyword rich urls.
The natural thing to do in buying a domain name is purchasing your business name. The problem is if you’ve thought it is likely that someone else has also. So there are some things you can do to get you url while keeping your business name.
a. If your business name is short enough add a keyword in your URL. When I worked for jewelry company we included diamonds after our business name and it was helpful in keyword targeted search rankings.
b. If yourname.com is not available then try a dash in the URL like your-website.com.
2) Make use of Thesaurus
a. If you have the opportunity to start a business then sometimes you can consider a name with a thesaurus. If you are past that point then you will want to find something that matches your business name with a product or service that you offer. The thesaurus helps with words you may not have considered.
3) Top Level Domain Names
a. Buy the .com wherever possible and if you want to secure your brand name purchase all .net and .org as well. Buying these additional sites help protect your brand.
b. The reason for purchasing the .com is that it is often the most thought of suffix for website.
c. If you are out side of the U.S. then a country specific domain is the best for your country specific searches. This is good for if you are looking to branch outside of your country.
4) Domain Name Length
a. When choosing a domain remember to keep it simple. The longer it is the more difficult to remember and for potential typing errors. One business I know of has a long domain name and whenever he tells someone they balk at the length of it. If possible find something short and sweet.
5) Keywords in Sub Directories
a. As I mentioned earlier about keywords you will want to consider this in naming your sub directories. A sub directory comes after the top level domain (i.e. .com, .net, ect…). In creating folders you want to make sure that your keywords are included. If it is diamonds add it to the yourwebsite.com/princess-diamonds.html or something similar.
6) Numbers and Misspellings in Domain Names
a. Numbers and misspelling of domains are a tempting choice but often is a mistake. If you include a number it can either be spelled out or just used as a digit. For your customer they may not remember which 1 (or one) to choose from and then necessitates a search if they don’t find the result. Misspellings are also bad because most people don’t think to write it with the misspelling. There are cases where both numbers and misspellings are used but tread carefully. The consequence is lost customers.